Carter leaves NK with freed American

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter left Pyongyang Friday after securing the release of an American who had been detained for trespassing, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Carter flew to the North Korean capital three days ago on what the U.S. government called "a private humanitarian mission" and gained a special pardon for Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was sentenced in May to eight years of labor and fined about US$700,000 for illegal entry in January.

The KCNA said in its English dispatch that Carter's trip "provided a favorable occasion of deepening the understanding and building confidence between the two countries."

The report said Carter apologized to Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, for Gomes' actions "on behalf of the government of the U.S." and requested his release.

"After receiving a report on the request made by the U.S. government and Carter, (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-il issued an order of the chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission on granting amnesty to Gomes," the report said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "The measure taken by the DPRK to set free the illegal entrant is a manifestation of its humanitarianism and peace-loving policy."

According to the report, Kim Yong-nam, nominal head of state, reiterated the North's willingness "for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the resumption of the six-party talks," referring to the long-stalled multilateral forum aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons programs.

It didn't elaborate on how Carter responded to the North Korean position. North Korea and China, its last major ally, have been pushing to reopen the six-party talks, which started in 2003 but have been on hold since late 2008 due to a North Korean boycott.

北통신 "카터 전 대통령 평양 출발"

북한 조선중앙통신은 27일 지미 카터 전 미국 대통령이 이날 항공편으로 평양을 떠났다고 밝혔다.

중앙통신은 별도의 `보도'를 통해, 김정일 국방위원장이 미국 정부와 카터 전 대통령의 요청에 대해 보고받고 불법 입국한 미국인 곰즈씨를 특사해 석방할 것을 명령했다"고 말했다.

이에 따라 지난 25일 북한을 방문한 카터 전 대통령은 방북 사흘째인 이날 곰즈씨와 함께 민간 전세기를 타고 귀국한 것으로 보인다.

중앙통신은 또 "불법 입국 미국인에 대한 석방 조치는 우리 공화국의 인도주의와 평화애호적 정책의 발현"이라고 주장했다.